Deepti Sharma etched her name into the history books as she surpassed the T20I wicket-taking tally of Jhulan Goswami with the wicket of Beth Mooney in the game between Australia and India. During the highly anticipated Group Stage match in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, Deepti Sharma officially became the highest wicket-taker across all formats in international women’s cricket. The Indian premier all-rounder picked up the 356th wicket of her international career, surpassing Jhulan Goswami who previously held the record with 355 wickets to her name. This would be a monumental moment for Deepti Sharma as she topped the all-time wicket-taking charts at the moment.

The special moment for Deepti Sharma came in the 10th over of the game when Harmanpreet Kaur entrusted the spinner to create a breakthrough. In the very first ball of the over, Deepti Sharma tossed the ball at the stumps and she tempted Beth Mooney to take the aerial route. The Australian wicket-keeper batter miscued the ball straight into the hands of Smriti Mandhana, who made no mistake. Deepti Sharma picked up a crucial wicket in an important stage in the game and it was a massive moment in her international career as well.

India's campaign ends in agony with loss against Australia

Deepti Sharma is regarded as one of the best bowlers of the generation with her wicket-taking abilities. She equalled the wicket-taking tally of Jhulan Goswami with the wicket of Phebe Molkenboer against Netherlands as that was her 355th wicket. However, Deepti Sharma went wicketless in both the games against South Africa and Bangladesh. Her milestone was unfortunately delayed by two games but the historic moment finally arrived at the right moment for India in the all important game against Australia.

The game slipped away from India with the expensive over of Shree Charani and it proved to be the difference in the game. India weren’t in control of the game at any stage in the second innings but they were relatively ahead until the 14th over. Shree Charani’s over gave away 16 runs and that was the game-changing over for Australia. From then on, it was quite easy for Australia as they found the boundary gaps with ease. Ellyse Perry and Ashleigh Gardner carried the Australian batting unit in this run-chase and it was a timely one in the context of the qualification into the Semi-Finals of the World Cup.

India have been handed an early exit in the 2026 ICC Women’s T20I World Cup and this would be a disappointing end for the Women in Blue. Harmanpreet Kaur and her women went into the tournament with high hopes after their historic triumph in the 2025 ICC Women’s ODI World Cup. Unfortunately, the T20I World Cup dream has come to an abrupt end for the Women in Blue.